Government and Policy

Shanghai mayor visits Taiwan; memo expected

By Zuo Likun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-06 11:35

Shanghai mayor Han Zheng kicks off his closely-watched Taiwan visit on Tuesday morning, a first among the mainland's four central municipal governors, and is expected to secure a cooperation memo that is set to shore up the ongoing talks on cross-Straits economic pact, Huanqiu.com reported.

Han arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 11 am Tuesday morning to start his four-day itinerary on the island that is laced with meetings with local officials.

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Han is expected to meet with his Taipei counterpart Hau Lung-bin and sign a city-level cooperation memorandum. The two are also likely to discuss how to jointly promote the forthcoming Shanghai World Expo starting in May as well as Taipei Flora Expo starting in November. Han is also expected to meet with Lien Chan and Wu Poh-hsiung, both honorary chairman of the ruling Kuomingtang.

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan has of late beefed up their negotiations for the long-awaited Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), in an attempt to normalize the cross-Straits economic ties and bring the two economies closer.